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13 April, 2013

G8 Foreign Ministers welcomed significant progress made in Somalia over the past 18 months on security, political transition and humanitarian conditions.

G8 Foreign Ministers welcomed significant progress made in Somalia over the past 18 months on security, political transition and humanitarian conditions.

G8 Foreign Ministers

G8 Foreign Ministers met in London on 10-11 April. The G8 represents a group of nations with a broad range of global interests and with a collective responsibility and opportunity to use its influence to address some of the most pressing issues in the world.

Foreign Ministers addressed a number of international issues, challenges and opportunities that impact on global peace, security and prosperity. Beyond exchanging views and coordinating actions on the pressing foreign policy issues of the day, they made a number of commitments which included Somalia.

In a joint statement issued at the end of the meeting, they made the following commitments on Somalia:

"G8 Foreign Ministers welcomed the significant progress made in Somalia over the past 18 months on security, political transition and humanitarian conditions and recognised the considerable support provided by the AU Mission in Somalia (AMISOM), African Union strategic partners, Troop Contributing Countries, the United Nations, European Union and other international donors. G8 Ministers underlined the need for continued early international support to the new Somali Government. The G8 noted that the second Somalia Conference in London, to be co-hosted with the Somali Government in May, aims to endorse a series of Somali-led plans to rebuild the security forces, the judiciary, and public financial management systems. It will also support the Federal Government of Somalia in establishing effective federal structures for Somalia. The Special Conference on Somalia in the margins of the TICAD V in Japan in May will focus on the need for socio-economic development from the angle of human security. This will be followed in September by an EU conference seeking to encompass a broader set of Somali priorities for rebuilding the state and establishing a new political order. It will do so on the basis of a Compact, in line with the New Deal Principles for Fragile States. All three conferences will place the new Somali Government firmly in the lead on rebuilding Somalia." Somalia: IFI re-engagement

"Ministers agreed to provide high-level political support to the process of Somalia's re-engagement with the World Bank, the African Development Bank, and the International Monetary Fund, while taking into account the policies and procedures of the International Financial Institutions with regard to countries in fragile situations, including security considerations. Ministers strongly encouraged the Somali Government in its efforts to this end. They recognised that the economic and institutional expertise and broader support these organisations can provide is necessary to help implement reforms that could promote macroeconomic stability, fiscal sustainability, the potential for inclusive economic growth, an enabling environment for Foreign Direct Investment, and the expansion of trade.

"In parallel, Ministers urged the Somali Government to demonstrate particular political commitment to public financial management and to strengthening transparency and accountability in order to lay the foundations for IFI re-engagement. Ministers acknowledged that full IFI engagement and the rebuilding of Somalia was a long-term endeavour that would require sustained high-level political support." Somalia: Counter-terrorism

"Al Shabaab and foreign fighters present in Somalia remain a major terrorist threat to Somali and international interests. G8 Foreign Ministers stressed the importance of continued co-ordinated international assistance to develop the rule of law, Somalia's security, financial and judicial systems (including on border security, anti-money laundering and countering terrorist financing), in line with the Rabat principles on human rights. Foreign Ministers acknowledged the importance of the Somali Government's work to promote reconciliation, de-mobilise and re-integrate those Al Shabaab fighters who have renounced violence, and pledged to support these efforts. They reiterated the importance of a comprehensive political settlement in Somalia, including clarity on relations between central and regional authorities, as a means of reducing the operating space for those who advocate violence and terror."